Wichita eagle., 1887-10-16

in Louisiana-but they insisted upon
going, and shoulderina their bag of hats
started out cheerfully on their twenty
mile walk, thinly clad and without Shoes
On their return that night they found
they had left their little dog in town, and
the next morning one of the boys went
back alone over the long, lonely road,
found the dog, and returned the same day.
Sheets, table cloths, window curtains
and bed spreads, all were transformed
into clothing, but there is an end to all
things, and the last resource / remember
in that line was lot of osnaburg meal
bags, obtained no doubt, by some strenu-
Gus exertions of those same executive
abilities, which robed the entire crowd Of
us in garments designed in the cutting
with view to our rapid growth and the
uncertainty of future supply. Shoes we
never thought Of; my mother and aunt
made cloth shoes for themselves, or by
dint of much bargaining occasionally got
a pair made by some Of the country
women, rough, coarse, leather shoes, but
very valuable in wet or cold weather.
Our feet were turned out to grow in unre-
strained freedom, regardless of season or
weather. Only once did we get any
bought Shoes" and that was at the time
of the evacuation of Jackson, Miss. Ny
mother happened to be there at the time,
on business, and saw the streets strewn
with goods from the stores. We had
some family negroes hired out in Jackson,
and they gave her some of the spoils that
had fallen to them-plnS, needles, thread
and buttons, then objects of priceless
value, and also reckless assortment of
shoes, with which, on her return, we were
proudly invested. A pair of boys brogans,
about three sizes too large, fell to my
share, and when my small feet were duly
installed in their roomy quarters l was
prouder of them than have ever been of
a pair of shoes since.
But our hardest rubs were not in the
matter of clothes; we could, and certainly
did, do on very little clothing in that
climate; it was the eating that brought
the tug of war. aud it would take a
volume 10 relate our experiences in that
line Flour sugar and coffee we never
saw; meat we had only about half the
time, and thought ourselves fortunate
when we had enough meal There was
only one mill within reach of the COM
munity managed solely by little, bent,
shriveled old woman, who looked like
veritable witch as she sat knitting on
narrow platform over the water, made by
two or three boards loosely laid down.
Fully half the time the mill was out OF
order or the water too low, or something
the matter, then there would not be
piece of bread in the community, and we
would have to live on boiled or parched
corn. and sometimes we did not have that;
sometimes we had nothing in the world
but sweet potatoes. Often we did not
have grain of salt. We children would
eat anything and everything that came in
our way. / remember once the boys
caught large fish of the kind known as
alligator gar, by no means considered a
desirable variety. and when ma refused tc
cook it we boiled it in the washoet with
about peck of Irish potatoes and shallots
and had nocturnal outdoor feast with
great jollity and subsequent general
cholera merbus. We about eXterminatej
the rabbits. and even tried dry land terra
bins, though |. for my part, did not ike
the iiavor. | think we surely eat every
thin. that was ever eaten before o. since.
AVngina l.. BonSau n Ailapta CoEsti- |
tuth'..